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How expanding the GST could net Australia $500m at the 2032 Olympics
The right GST mix could see Australia pocket an additional $500 million from international travellers when it hosts the Olympics in 2032, new figures show.
How expanding the GST could net Australia $500m at the 2032 Olympics
The right GST mix could see Australia pocket an additional $500 million from international travellers when it hosts the Olympics in 2032, new figures show.
With Brisbane announced as the 2032 Olympic Games host, Australia could be in line for a major boost to the economy.
According to the Tax Institute, in 2000 when Sydney hosted the Olympic games, Australia gained $6 billion to $7 billion in additional GDP that year alone, while creating 100,000 new jobs and boosting tourism by 1.6 million visitors.
Adjusted to today’s dollar value, the added funds work out at approximately $9.75 billion to $11.3 billion.
“Much of the additional revenue generated by hosting the Olympics comes from overseas visitors,” Tax Institute’s director of tax policy and technical, Andrew Mills, said.
“If all of that money included GST and about half was spent by international visitors, then we have raised millions of dollars in extra GST from those tourists.”
With Brisbane set to benefit in a similar capacity to Sydney, Mr Mills believes a more efficient GST system would see Australia’s gain from international spending triple.
“So, if the Brisbane Olympics were held today, we might collect $250 million from international visitors,” Mr Mills explained. Conversely, under a change in GST, that sum would lift to $750 million.
However, there’s a catch.
To capture this upside, Australia would need to rework its tax system.
As it currently stands, Australia’s GST is well below much of the world, with it being at a lower rate as well as it covering a smaller proportion of GDP.
“Only about half of our GDP is currently subject to GST, and our rate of GST is well below the rest of the world. If we increased the GST rate to 15 per cent, like New Zealand, and applied it to all spending, suddenly we could collect around $750 million in potential GST revenue from international visitors,” Mr Mills said.
“That number will increase in the years to 2032,” he added.
As such, Mr Mills argued that in order to maximise the benefits of the Olympic Games, Australia needs to take a holistic approach to tax reform.
“This is one simple example of how the Australian economy, the Australian people, could benefit from tax reform today. The time for tax reform is now so that we can reap the benefits in the future,” he said.
Despite fears that Australians could be slugged with another tax, Mr Mills pointed out that tax reform is not in isolation, meaning lifting the GST would allow for tax breaks in other areas such as income tax.
“So, on the one hand we might increase GST, and on the other, look to compensate those Australians hardest hit with increased social security, tax cuts or other appropriate compensation,” he concluded.
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